Political analyst Stu Rothenberg will kick off the Academy Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon on Oct. 15. Rothenberg is a fixture on Washington’s political scene and editor of the Rothenberg Political Report. He has been widely published and is a frequent guest on NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, and The McLaughlin Group. Learn more. (May 22, 2012)

The Pension Practice Council submitted a letter to members of the House-Senate Conference Committee commenting on the pension funding stabilization provisions included in S. 1813 as passed by the Senate. The PPC recommended that to the extent the conference committee chooses to include pension funding changes in the final legislation to create more stability in contributions for plan sponsors, this could be accomplished better by smoothing outputs (contribution requirements) rather than inputs (discount rates). (May 02, 2012)

Nominations for three different Academy awards are open. The Jarvis Farley Service Award is given to an Academy member who has made an extraordinary contribution to the profession through long-time service as an Academy volunteer. The Robert J. Myers Public Service Award recognizes extraordinary contribution to the public good through service to the government or in the public sphere. And, initiated last year, are the annual Awards for Outstanding Volunteerism to honor Academy volunteers who have made a single, noteworthy contribution above and beyond what is reasonably expected. (April 20, 2012)

The Health Practice Council and the Committee on Qualifications sent a letter to all state insurance commissioners and chairs of each state house and senate insurance committee regarding the appropriate definition of "Qualified Actuary" as it relates to the Affordable Care Act's rate review provision. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is authorized to determine whether health insurance rate increases filed with states are “unreasonable.” As of September 1, 2011 rate increases equal to or greater than 10 percent may be reviewed by states that have been determined by CMS to have an effective rate review program; otherwise, increases in excess of 10 percent will be reviewed by CMS to determine whether such rate increases are “unreasonable.” As a result, many states are in the process of drafting regulatory language that would create their own rate review program. In the past few months, an inconsistency in the definition of “qualified actuary” in some state regulations has come to the attention of the American Academy of Actuaries. The letter provides recommended language regarding the appropriate definition of qualified actuary as states move to implement the Affordable Care Act’s rate review provision. (April 20, 2012)

The Academy has published two guides to help voters better understand the long-term financial challenges facing Medicare and Social Security. Read what to ask candidates—and how to evaluate their answers—about proposals for reforming these programs. The guides are part of the Academy’s Campaign 2012 Toolkits. For more information on the release of the guides, click here. (April 20, 2012)